I guess this thread was made to mock the poster who had the nerve to point out Crosby's obvious struggles to score goals. The way some people worship Crosby it almost makes you understand where Semin is coming from.

This reminds me of when someone was worried that he'd only be a 20 goal, 80 assist guy at some point last year in the playoffs. Someone responded with, yeah, he's had seasons of 39, 36, and onpacefor 37...

Not so bold prediction: Crosby will have 40+ by the end of the season if he stays healthy.

I have full confidence that he will improve his shot as he progresses. It definitely needs work... both power and accuracy. Maybe he does need to change his stick. Still, he creates offense every time he's on the ice, so it's not like he's playing badly out there.

DanceOfChampions wrote:One of the things I was hoping for over the offseason was him figuring out that more and more teams were learning how to defend him. So many times he streaks into the zone and has an open look at the net and totally disregards it, passing to a wide open Orpik or Scuderi at the point? What is the purpose of that? If he develops a better shot more people are going to respect that shot and leave his wingers open. People have learned how to defend him. They know his shot is not a threat.

We almost blew a 5 goal lead in one period!That doesn't concern anyone?Individual performances aside, the team mentality and game play should have changed after going up 5 goals. Keep the intensity up, but start finishing hits. The Oilers had come off of a game the night before, and certainly were without some of their zip. The thing is, the pens never finished checks in any period, so they come out with plenty left in the tank in the third. I am not a big fan of changing game play just because you are up, but with 5 goals you keep playing aggressive but finish a check, and make sure the guy you hit is out of the play with you. It is just frustrating to watch that happen.

Also, it was frustrating watching them try to get Sykora a hat trick on the 5 on 3. It seems like we were just show boating and it bit us in the behind....almost.

On the other hand, I thought the lines started to show some life by actually looking to the front of the net while in the offensive zone cycle. Some very good even strength pressure applied last night and a great first two periods by Fleury.

Keep up the level of play we have had the last two games and we will be just fine. Just stop the lapses.

Question: I haven't been paying that much attention, but have the other teams been playing their top defensemen and defensive forwards against Crosby's line? Maybe if Malkin looks even more dominant, it will switch, allowing Sid to rock out the scoring (assists and goals).

I guess somebody just forgot that it's illegal to point out anything negative about Sidney, even though his struggles to score goals have been ongoing and obvious to anybody not in denial.

Crosby is doing everything he should be doing. If he keeps playing that this current speed/pace/whatever you want to call it, he'll be in the top 5 in scoring....again. its overly critical and, for lack of a better word, dumb. ...and worthy of mocking.

I guess somebody just forgot that it's illegal to point out anything negative about Sidney, even though his struggles to score goals have been ongoing and obvious to anybody not in denial.

Crosby is doing everything he should be doing. If he keeps playing that this current speed/pace/whatever you want to call it, he'll be in the top 5 in scoring....again. its overly critical and, for lack of a better word, dumb. ...and worthy of mocking.

Nah. It's not at all. This thread doesn't say "Crosby sucks" "trade Crosby" or anything else that would be considered absurd. All it does is point out the undeniable reality that Sid has been struggling to finish plays for a while now. Many people on this thread are discussing that very subject in a civilized and reasonable manner without disparaging Crosby. I have no clue why anybody would have a problem with that.

The Adam Oates comparison is invalid IMO. Oates' low goal totals were because he was always looking to pass first, second, third and fourth. Crosby might still be a pass-first guy (and I suspect he always will be), but this season he's been shooting more. If that keeps up, he'll get his share of goals.

I wish James Mirtle or another stats minded reporter/blogger would tabulate the ebb and flow of scoring over the course of a season. For specific players, show the actual versus projected scoring throughout the season -- weekly or bi-weekly intervals. Then we could all see how dumb projected stats really are.